USTA Certified Regional Training Center for Northern California
January 28, 2010 04:24 PM
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Eagle Fustar Tennis Development coaches: Nick Fustar, Brian Eagle, Ogidi Obi
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Eagle Fustar coach Ogidi Obi with Eric Johnson, holding his gold ball for winning the Easter Bowl doubles. Eric is off to a great start in 2010, claiming the Boys 18s Copper Bowl title.
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USTA PLAYER DEVELOPMENT NAMES EAGLE FUSTAR TENNIS AS A USTA CERTIFIED REGIONAL TRAINING CENTER
Eagle Fustar Tennis Will Serve as Certified Regional Training Center for USTA NorCal
New USTA Certified Regional Training Centers will Expand USTA Player Development’s Programming Throughout the Country
January 25, 2010 – The USTA and USTA Player Development announced today that the Eagle Fustar Tennis Program, which operates in Northern California on the campuses of Santa Clara University, West Valley College and Mission College, has been named a USTA Certified Regional Training Center as part of its continuing expanded efforts to develop future American tennis champions. As a Certified Regional Training Center, Eagle Fustar Tennis will help to better serve the junior tennis community in the USTA Northern California Section, and USTA Player Development will use this new partnership as a vehicle to invite all of Northern California’s junior tennis coaches to work together towards developing the next generation of American champions.
“Eagle Fustar Tennis has done a wonderful job of developing talent since its inception, and we are thrilled to announce it as a USTA Certified Regional Training Center,” said Martin Blackman, Senior Director, Talent Identification and Development, USTA Player Development, who oversees the USTA Regional Training Center program. “This partnership was established with the invaluable support and cooperation of the USTA NorCal section, led by Marjorie Peterson (President), Steve Leube (Executive Director) and Summer Verhoeven (Junior Tennis Manager), and the USTA looks forward to working with Eagle Fustar Tennis to foster and develop the abundance of talent in the Northern California region.”
One of the Eagle Fustar juniors experiencing tremendous success is Eric Johnson. Last month, he won the boys 18s singles at the2010 Copper Bowl in Tucson, AZ. Eric took his game to the next level in 2009 with the help of coach Nick Fustar and travelling coach Ogidi Obi. In addition to winning a gold ball in doubles, Eric won three ITF events, and USTA National and Section tournaments.
The USTA Certified Regional Training Centers expand the USTA Player Development program’s reach throughout the country by partnering with academies, clubs and tennis centers that have a proven record of identifying and developing tennis players. In December of 2008, the USTA named the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta and The Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland as its first two Certified Regional Training Centers. In addition to Eagle Fustar Tennis in Northern California, the USTA also has named a network of facilities in Texas and in the Midwest as Certified Regional Training Centers. The USTA plans to name between eight to ten more Certified Regional Training Centers throughout the country over the next five years.
“We are tremendously excited to have the privilege to work with the USTA in developing some of the most talented junior tennis players in Northern California,” said Nick Fustar, Co-owner, Eagle Fustar Tennis. “We are thrilled about the team of coaches the USTA has put together for this program and we can’t wait to put forth an outstanding series of camps.”
In addition to continuing their already existing programs, the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers will also host USTA Player Development camps for players, ages 8-12, in their respective regions. These players will be selected in conjunction with the USTA National coaching staff and their respective USTA Section Coaching Commission. The Centers will also help identify talent in players as young as 6-years-old, run programs using the QuickStart* format and host QuickStart tournaments for players 8-and-under and 10-and-under. The first USTA NorCal Certified Regional Training Center camp will take place in February.
The camps will be staffed by the top coaches at the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers and throughout Northern California, with additional assistance from the USTA national coaching staff. The coaches at the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers will also work in conjunction with the USTA Coaching Education program by working with and training the top coaches in their region and USTA Section. Additionally, the coaches will attend training sessions at USTA National Training Centers.
The Eagle Fustar Tennis Program was founded in 2003 and is located in the Bay Area of California. The program operates on the campuses of Santa Clara University, West Valley College and Mission College and currently serves over 200 top players in the Bay Area. Eagle Fustar Tennis offers a number of training opportunities for junior players of all skill levels, including a new full-time program, daily high-performance clinics and QuickStart classes. Eagle Fustar Tennis’ coaching staff is led by former professionals Brian Eagle and Nick Fustar. For more information, visit eaglefustarcom.
The new USTA Player Development unit has been created to identify and develop the next generation of American champions by surrounding the top junior players and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need to reach their maximum potential. The Player Development program is based at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., and also utilizes the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif., and the USTA Training Center-East at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. In 2008, the USTA began implementing its Certified Regional Training Center program as part of its expanded efforts to develop future American tennis champions, which will expand the USTA Player Development program’s reach throughout the country by partnering with academies, clubs and tennis centers that have a proven record of identifying and developing tennis players.
For more information on junior player developement in Northern California, contact Summer Verhoeven, verhoeven@norcal.usta.com
* QuickStart Tennis is a new play format that has been developed to help kids ten and under play the game of tennis. To make the game more accessible to children, several elements have been modified including the court size, the racquet size, the balls, the scoring system, and even the net height.